“And so the First Epoch came to an end. The First Epoch passed into the Second Epoch with the appearance of the minor powers and mortal magics. Though the exact time when the epochs shifted is up for debate the appearance of two powerful dragons is widely agreed to fall within the second epoch. The early days of the Second Epoch were marked by several conflicts between the gods, dubbed the Four Divine Wars. Interestingly enough none of these wars would be resolved until…” - An except of the Chronicles of the Epochs
The War of Weather
Verdance was a sight for mortal eyes to behold. The minor powers were hard at work across the continent. The preparations for war were constant and full of energy. That energy was not limited to mortal souls, but infused even the very air with a charge of excitement for the glory to come. Yet, while all were eager for the coming battle, the appearance of two dragons had given all cause for concern. Neither side wished to rush into battle haphazardly and become easy prey for a hungry beast after using their power to crush their opponent.
Spring was in full swing in the south. The weather was warm, the eternal winter broken. The tasatha rejoiced and sent many thanks to their god for sending them this angel of fire. The priesthood became even more ingrained in the Tasatha society during the preparations for war, as prayers for good fortune in battle flooded in. Preparations also expanded their society. Using their new love of fire, and the many grains that had sprouted upon winter’s end, the Tasatha discovered how to make a tough grainy bread. Their intent was to create a dense food which could be carried deep into the frostbitten north. While some less durable and more tasty breads are created, it is this grainy bread which is mass produced for the war. Furthermore, the spring brought with it a new species of animal, the Sephtora. These raptorlike bipedal lizards were mostly docile herbivores, which roamed in packs across the southernlands. The Tasatha who had recently begun domestication of the bisopautamous began to domesticate the Sephtora as well. Small packs of Sephtora are domesticated to be used as mounts in the coming war for scouts and officers in mortal army. The tasatha were jubilant and excited, glory fighting for their god alongside an angel filled them with zeal.
The north shows a very different picture. Winter hardens, digging deeper into the land. Glacial fortresses are constructed from ice and stone by the Zails. Their powerful bodies and immunity to the winter winds would be their greatest strength in the battle to come. However, their walls would be their second greatest strength. Boroi infantry are trained in the arts of war by the ice princess Skzail. Her training not only teaches the boroi the techniques of combat, but exposure to her presence hardens their bodies and their souls. Powerful cyclones come to batter the lands around the North, given power by Skzail. These defenses were not made out of fear, but out of cold calculation. The Spring would have to come north in order to prevent Winter’s spread. A well defended stronghold surrounded by dangers and inhospitable climate would ravage the enemy's forces long before they even reached the icy bastions and ensure an easy victory. The boroi and Zails were grave and calm, steeling themselves for the coming battles. They froze their hearts and souls against the thought of death. They knew their true destiny was to return to the ice, and would never fear death.
Spring had chased away the Aedans which had landed upon the shores of Verdance. Unseen machinations made the south unpleasant for the eldritch immigrants. Many left, but some headed north and found refuge in the frozen wasteland of winter. A massive forest of eldritch trees and Aedans rose up on the northern coast. They were greeted openly and welcomed by the frozen princess Skzail. How they ultimately fit into her war effort was ultimately unclear.
The War of Minds
The Ishagi had one fatal flaw, they were particularly susceptible to the mind altering manipulations of the higher powers. This had plagued them from their very inception as a race of natural spirits and guardians of nature and sacred places. Bastardized and twiced time and time again, the interior of an Ishagi soul appears to have been shattered, twisted, and strung together almost at random. This had been a major aspect of the Ishagi war of expansion during the First Epoch. Yet early in the Second Epoch two major events further affected the future of this poor race of self-constructing golems.
Early in the Epoch the Ishagi mind was once again altered by a power greater than themselves, yet this time Tuaron was not the one to reprogram them. Their minds were completely changed, not only reordered, but the very fabric and composites of them were altered into a completely new form. No longer were their minds written on the crystallized fabric of the mortal soul, in the ink of the divine spark, in the language of the gods. No, for now their souls had been dyed in colors which do not exist, and the language is both new and unnatural to the divine. Indeed, their minds were almost brand new constructions, built in a new language that departed from their previous vulnerability. Yet as the way updated, several key sections could not be rewritten or reworked. Among these were the directives given by the Earth God Tauron. Yet among the swirling smoky lines of code that now wandered in under and across the unique place that is their consciousness, several Escher pillars of stability arouse. Among these was the ability of the Isahgi to alter the minds of their children along the new coding that was given to them so that each generation may slightly alter the priorities of the next. Furthermore they have had their emotions expanded to include knowledge, joy and freedom, these are viewed as resources not only for themselves, but for and from those who they come to care for in the future. Lastly, their reproduction is now required to have two participants. While this is not wholly necessary and at times can be forgone, this is seen as a last resort. This even applies to non-Ishagi. After these changes are made, the Ishagi become much less susceptible to mind controlling efforts, their brains being surrounded by an eldritch firewall and written in a foreign language.
They take hold of their own future in some ways, but in others, they are still guided by the overlord Tauron. They begin delving into the depths, knowing that they now spread across the oceans, and come to meet with the Annelids. A great meeting between the races is devised to produce a non-aggression pact, let by the two prophets of Tauron. However, through magical machinations, an ornate Troonish door appears and a group of emissaries pass through into the cavern where the meeting is to be held. The two Gemini prophets, and several members of each troonish race. The Sciro and the Incilantro make up the majority of the entourage, but several Aedans, a few Boroi blacksmiths, and a pair of Grungs accompany the prophets to the meeting that they were not invited to. (This event is ongoing during this turn and has to be acted on by the relevant gods). Oddly enough, dozens of mushroom like houses sprung up in the area, and across the world, at the exact moment the prophets arrived.
The War of Magic and Metal
Deep beneath the earth a new danger arose from the depths of the earth. As the annelids dug deeper and deeper into the earth, they began encountering ice they could not dig through. Deeper they dug, searching for metals, for their all-mighty god had given those who lived in the Twisting tunnels had given them the insights to develop metalurgy. Soon after they encountered the ice spires, a strange metal was discovered. The Annelids had discovered Titanium, a magical metal. Though they knew nothing of its properties, it radiated energy and heat. The Annelids quickly began trying to smelt it in large incredibly hot furnaces, for it was much harder to melt than other metals discovered. However, they had no success for it was truly magical and impossibly hard to melt. The metal glowed constantly after being exposed to heat during this, and never lost its glow despite losing its heat. Not long after the discover, a new power was felt, the dragon Pybur had set his sights on the haul of ore, for they were the most valuable in the world and had been stockpiled. His greed could be felt by the owners of these items despite his distance. Pybar, in pursuit of his desire, flew down from the heavens with such force that he shattered the ground beneath him. A cavern ceiling collapsed under his mighty blow! A vast hole had been opened in the ceiling and Pybar had entered the caverns. The annelids who lived there fell down in awe and terror. Pybar gave them two options, serve him and gain vast power, or die in the fires of his forge. None died that day, barring a few crushed to death. Pybar and his new servants, not all unwilling or unambitious, erected a giant smithery fueled by dragonfire and smelting of the Titanium began. The other dragon could be seen flying overhead some days. Pybar looked wary during these times, like a predator who was guarding his successful hunt against scavengers. With time, the annelid smiths and miners who served the dragon lord began to change. Pybar gifted them each a scale from his body, and upon doing so, they changed becoming more and more draconic as time passed. Strange machinations were at work, but the forges burned on, their end product had yet to be announced or created.
The War of Islands
The new islands of Moaky had become a major point of contention for the gods. All looked upon the islands with desire. The Troonish Federation was the first to arive on the islands. Appearing through a Door to the central island, many sciro missionaries travel to the island to discover and converse with the shrimpmen which live there. The meeting is very strange. The shrimp spot the sciro long before they the Sciro saw them. The shrimpmen were immediately interested in the sciro and inspected them at length before seeming to give them some level of approval. The sciro soon discovered the shrimpmen were called the Odonto. They lived quite unremarkable lives. They each had a burrow, shaped like a U, and lived in loose communities. They spent a fair deal of time hunting and gathering. They had no culture to speak of, their only unifying ideology was a minor worship of the dragon Maringi, The Volcano Which Soars. They believe it is a great spirit which gave birth to the Odonto and guards its children so they may live long lives free of strife. And indeed, it seems those on the central island do live rather complacent lives, spending most of their time hunting foraging and eating. They are a content people, though they know nothing of technology, living almost as if they were animals. These Odonto are green and orange in coloration, with smashing appendages. They seem to accept the Sciro as strange cousins, likely the children of a different dragon. Some dislike the Sciro, some seem to be rather interested. Most however go about their business uninterested.
Much later some tauron worshiping Ishagi arrived at the fifth island. Here they found a very different scene. The Odonto here were yellow with blue accents and had piercing appendages. They were discovered for they had actually entered the tunnels and had begun exploring them. The meeting was odd. The ishagi and the Odonto conversed for a bit and came to the agreement that they would not need to fight, for it seemed neither meant the other harm. The Odonto of the fourth island were moderate diggers, but excellent farmers. They had a large feild of some ricelike crop as well as a cultivated undersea field of kelp. These Odonto had a rigid system of justice and honor, and were gracious hosts to the Ishagi, giving them enough obsidian so that they may craft an obsidian Ishagi. The entire tribe was included in this event, and it was a powerful symbol of the two new friends. Relations between the Ishagi and the Fourth Odonto start off well!
Even later Aedans arrived on the first island. All of them had fled Verdance and headed south. They were greeted with some level of hostility. The Odontos of the first island had a warlike culture, but upon receiving fruits from the Aedans, they became highly confused. War did not break out, and the Aedans were allowed to make landfall, but the Odontos were rather suspicious. They had built large stone and wood structures and had a small village. These Odontos were red with pink and green coloration and smashing appendages.
It seems that all tribes of Odonts were peaceful towards eachother, referring to some event in the past where they were one people with one island and still are. When they die, their soul returns to the One Island of the Odontos according to their culture.
Yet so was the Second Epoch marked by the appearance of the first Heros. Prophets had come to dominate the mortals of the First Epoch, but through various means, several heros had arrisen at the begining of the Second Epoch.
The first hero to appear was the Sciro Struo. A passionate debater and orator, who spoke softly and reasonably. Her bookish demeanor and powerful organization skills ensured she would quickly rise to power among the populace. It is through force of arguement that Struo enacted great change upon the society. They organized the first political party that came to consolidate the beliefs and ideology of the masses. Many fell into following this quiet leader who led to the establishment of the Church of the Four Gods. Based upon the revelation of democracy, Struo led to the enactment of a system of elections based upon debates and votes. All who lived upon the troon were allowed votes in the elections and were free to participate in the debates over issues. In a deft, and partially controversial move, Struo included Aedanusuirillystiphosidarap in the pantheon of heavenly powers. This served to alienate some Sciro and Incilantro who did not approve of the eldritch giants, but this immediately brought the entirety of the race of aliens into the fold. Their votes providing much needed power behind the Church Party. Using this dominance of democracy Struo raised public power towards the construction of many works, and many individuals were employed by the church which had also become the government. While none were forced to participate and struck out on their own as rugged individualists, the specialization of labor became the strength of the Church of Four. Food was grown by farmers and distributed to all, roads were built by builders and used by all, smitheries were constructed and the many tools and items crudely created by the fledgling boroi smiths were distributed. In essence, distributed bartering was handled by the church and used as a payment and enforcement system for their policies. Those who participated need not be a lone individual working to achieve everything under the sun, but instead could become a master at their own task and exchange that labor for the labor of others. Thus was the system that she, Struo, had come to enact upon the celestial body. It is for her great acts that she became the first hero of the world. (The four gods involved with the Troon now gain 1.5 acts per turn.)
Yet another hero, one who’s strength came from might instead of wisdom, arose far below the moon. A single duro blacksmith, Rywan, had become hardened in the war against the Ishagi. His weapons and armor he forged for the war were built with still living Ishagi and had retained modicums of their spirit. These soul weapons were stronger than average, and considered masterworks. Truly Rywan was unrivaled in skill. Yet his ability to create was equally rivaled by his ability to destroy. A powerful fighter, he had slain many Ishagi who had come to threaten his people. Yet a new challenge had been bestowed upon his people by the Slab of Devestation. A challenge to overcome and a challenge to create. Rywan set out upon reading the slab, and had many adventures where he not only slaid many, now suddenly less deadly Ishagi, but also a powerful adamantium lion and a great rokhorn. From the corpses of these enemies, he crafted a cloth and amulet. With his relics in tow, and his soul sword in hand, he bravely entered the jungle. Day after day of cutting through webs as thick and blinding as the densest fog, Rywan trudged onward until he reached the sanctum of the spider queen Eurythia. In his bravery, he threw the relics at her feet and raised his sword against her. His hubris in thinking he could slay the queen of insects was his downfall, for his mighty sword broke upon striking her. She laughed at the puny mortal, her shrill laughter striking terrible fear immediately into the brave soldier, a fear deeper and darker than any had experienced. This was the fear that lay deep in the hearts of mortals. The root fear of everything in the universe. From it the fear of darkness, of snakes, of evil, of spiders, is born. As he was terror striken the Queen bit down into him, shattering his infallible armor which had never known defeat, and piercing his flesh with her fangs. Rywan was immediately cast into the Root of Fear. The venom of the queen casting him into the depths of the dark reaches of not only his soul, but of all mortal souls. This was her power, and his fate. He sunk into that darkness for eons, and rose after millennia of mind destroying fear. He awoke to find himself alone in the jungle, his shattered armor had rusted, his sword broken and tarnished, but of all the degradation, his soul was by far the worst. Stained black by his time in places mortals can barely feel, and never bare, he was a changed man. No, for he was no longer a man, but a monster. Before him lay everything he spent his life upon, a cloth, an amulet, and the arms for which he would save his people. He left them all there, leaving only with a parting gift from the Queen which had slain his soul, a fang which exuded the venom which had destroyed him so. Rywan left that place, but it never left him. He had become as dark, twisted, and full of webs as the very jungle which had birthed the new hero. Rywan was no longer Rywan, nor was he a duro, nor was he a mortal. He had become Telam.
The beginning of the new era attracted several offers, for it was a time of great change.
The bird god Lu arrived at your borders, carrying upon his back a small and dying world. I have brought forth, at the behest of Acter, this dying world. It's residences, locations, peoples, artifacts, and all things are free to be claimed by the gods of this pantheon. The time of this place has surely passed, and that which is not saved will return to the nothingness. Ask me fellow lords of above, and I shall tell you how difficult it will be to transpose such things onto your world.
The second offer was not truly an offer, but a terrible beast of the skies! It reared its winding maw and circled above your world like a terrifying and powerful hawk. The monstrous Spirit of the Sky Caerulum attempts to enter your domain! It is a massive bird with feathers which cut, and eyes which see all. Truly it is a terror to behold. If three acts are not spent to prevent it's entry, it will descend upon your realm and mercilessly hunt the denizens of this place.
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Topic: Gods of Creation III (IC) (Read 30882 times)